Although it was officially opened yesterday, no traffic is allowed until next Friday, when the final many touches are finished.
For far too long, local government has tried to pull the wool over Johannesburg residents’ eyes with their resplendent catch phrases so, when you hear a business owner in Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg (formerly Bree Street) scoff at authorities’ claim that an unfinished reopening is something that should be celebrated after a gas explosion in 2023 turned his and others’ worlds upside down, you can’t blame them for being cynical.
For more than two years, street vendors, commuters, residents and shop owners on the street have had to do without – or with very little – pay, as the street was closed after a gas explosion destroyed it in July 2023.
Yesterday, government officials were quick to celebrate the “progress” made in a ribbon-cutting, photo opportunity ceremony, but rubble, unfinished pavements and just sheer tardiness was on display.
What’s worse, according to the DA, is that it has cost a total of R215 million across two contractors – some R40 million over budget over 25 months since the blast.
That’s not counting what shop owners have lost.
ALSO READ: Video: Lilian Ngoyi Street ‘farce’: ‘It shouldn’t have been opened yet, It’s just politicking’
Although it was officially opened yesterday, no traffic is allowed until next Friday, when the final many touches are finished, so what is there to celebrate?
A resident, Michael Nteko, said: “The road shouldn’t have been opened yet. They were rushing to meet the deadline. It doesn’t look finished. It’s just politicking.”
Nizar Noor, a shop owner on Lillian Ngoyi Street, said: “In this critical situation, the rent is the biggest issue as there is no business. I have to pay the landlord from my own pocket.”
While Joburg Roads Agency CEO Zweli Nyathi wants to sell the idea that they wanted to “beautify the city as the reduced lanes would lighten traffic, reduce jaywalking and promote the use of public transport”, we must also be realistic and ask how can we believe you, when you can’t even meet relaxed deadlines, some 25 months after it took the heart and soul of people that work and live there?
NOW READ: Lilian Ngoyi Street in Joburg set to reopen after massive gas explosion
